An Alternate Path
by Darkwarrior1010
Summary: Clarith Netsuma has endured years of abuse and hatred due to her lineage, with only the promise of many more. But when an elderly lady appears with whispers of a power within Clarith's own hands, she has an alternate path. One that appears much darker.


**Hello! I finally have something to post, isn't that amazing?**

 **This is a Secret Santa gift to Kani/Guardian of Fate and Destiny on the Evillious Chronicles wiki. I hope you enjoy it Fate~**

* * *

In the woods of Elphegort, a wooded country to the north of Bolagnio, a lone girl was crouched by a swath of bushes bursting with bloomed berries. With each berry she picked she set it in an indent in the snow, creating a small loose pile.

Her skin as white as the snow beneath and around her, though red scratches and dark bruises were spattered across her body like the red todromansi berries that were scattered atop the fresh white snow. Not that she could feel them with the wintery cold sucking away at her ability to feel parts of her body. The girl pulled her cloak tighter around herself for warmth.

She needed these berries for both sustenance and sale too much to allow herself to return to her much-warmer house. With every breath another puff of her warmth left her body and drifted away. She picked another couple berries from a bush and dropped them in the pile.

 _I'm sorry for worrying you…_ She silently apologized to her foster mother Elsha, who had the most concerned expression on her aged face when she watched the girl leave to go out into the frigid day for foraging. But she needed a way to make money for the two of them to survive, and this was it.

A thorn tried to bite into her fingers, but her gloves—albite being worn—protected her hands well. She withdrew them from the bushes and breathed onto them, intent on breathing warmth into her chilled fingers.

She was so focused on her task that she didn't notice the crunch of light footsteps on snow behind her, and when a hand was placed upon her shoulder; she jumped in surprise and almost landed on her gathered berries.

"Hello, what is your name dearie?" the voice behind her croaked like that of a frog, but when the girl turned her head she saw only the gentle, wrinkled face of an old woman. In the hand not holding the girl's shoulder, the woman held a cane made of aged oak.

The girl looked down at the ground in anxiety. "C-clarith miss…" She slammed her eyes shut and hoped that this woman wouldn't pick on her like nearly everyone else did. The old lady didn't have green hair like a typical Elphegortean resident, but she could still be a native of the country.

The old woman's rounded face might have been pretty in youth, but her hoary age must have resulted in her skin sagging, making her face appear wrinkly and droopy.

"What a lovely name!" The woman purred in a ragged voice. "My name is Abyss I.R.—call me Abyss—and you, are a Netsuma, right dearie?" Abyss removed her hand from Clarith's shoulder and swung it into Clarith's white hair, a detail declaring that Clarith was not the same as anyone else born in Elphegort, which was called the green country for a reason. Clarith felt her hair played with by shaking fingers.

"Y-yes… I'm very sorry…" Clarith was about to flinch at the touch. She hated her hair, the ivory hair that set her aside for discrimination and bullying.

"Ooo, child! Don't apologize for being a Netsuma." And within a second, Clarith went from savoring the feeling of having her hair played with to feeling a firm finger dab her in the middle of the forehead.

"Y-you don't hate Netsumas?" Clarith opened her eyes and looked up at the old woman Abyss, who was peering down at her with squinted eyes.

"No, of course not." The woman sighed. "Tell me, dearie, have you ever heard of magic?"

"Magic? It doesn't exist…" Sure, there were many folktales. Elsha had tried to talk to her about the spirits of the forests, and the god that resided in here.

There had even been stories about people who could use things such as magic on a day to day basis, but all of it was exactly that—stories.

She picked up the basket that was close to her and began scooping berries from her pile.

"Oh dear, such cynicism," chuckled the woman.

Clarith dropped the berries she had in her hand into the basket and looked up from the task. "What?"

"Just watch my dear." Following a gesture of Abyss's hand, Clarith looked over her shoulder at the pile of berries.

At first nothing happened, but then soon they started rising from their spots in the snow-bowl. Clarith looked back over at Abyss, who was moving her arm in the same direction as the berries were heading. Clarith watched Abyss's arm and the berries drift to the left of Clarith, and eventually become lowered into the basket along with the other berries. "Do you see?" Dumbfounded, Clarith simply nodded. "Magic isn't real… heh. That was plenty real wasn't it?" Clarith nodded again.

"Y-you're a mage!" Abyss nodded, appearing bored at Clarith's statement.

She withdrew her finger from Clarith's forehead. "Yes, yes. I am." As Abyss stood up straight, she took a step or two back and leaned against her walking stick. "It's a rare phenomenon nowadays, but it still exists."

Clarith stared at Abyss I.R. If she had that kind of power for herself, that own ability, she could protect herself. If she had magic, she could do anything. Her mouth opened. She would no longer be bullied if she was more powerful, and she could help her foster mother as well. They'd be safe, and happy.

But… if very few people had such potential, then chances were that she wouldn't be one of them. She clasped her hands together and curled her fingers around themselves. She drew her hands to her chest.

Such power definitely wouldn't lie in someone who wasn't supposed to exist.

"Tell me Clarith dearie… Netsumas are considered scum by those in Elphegort, I know that just about as well as everyone else. But has anybody ever told you, the… secret benefits to Netsumas?" There was a thin, sly smile to the old mage, Clarith couldn't guess what it was over.

She shook her head. "Netsumas are just monsters. Everybody knows that."

"Ah well, the Netsumas… they have a history of magic, believe it or not. Your ancestors after all-" her grin spread a little wider, an interesting look entering her eyes. "-all had great magical talent. It was the envy of many."

Abyss seemed to thrive on Clarith's stunned stare, the lust for strength was quite clearly glowing in her crimson eyes. "You are a descendant of them, you have the potential. Any mage could see that." She stretched out with a hand again and slowly patted the albino girl on the head. "What would you say to me training you? I can help you reach that potential."

Clarith's eyes widened at the possibility. She felt the first of snow crystals reach her face, but didn't pay attention to them. She could wield magic herself. She closed her eyes, and inhaled. A couple seconds later and a couple degrees colder she opened her eyes and exhaled. "I-I accept…"

When her gaze focused back on Abyss's again, a subtle smile was on her face. But Clarith had no regret. She was finally going to be able to stand up for herself. "But what about my mother?" Clarith asked, remembering how Elsha was at home.

"Oh, do you live with your mother?"

"Y-yes. She's a Yatski Shaman."

"I see. Take me to her."

* * *

"Wow, look at all the people."

"Michaela!" The girl spun around, feeling her pigtails swing with the weight of their long length as she did so.

"Elluka?"

The woman who addressed Michaela nodded. Elluka was her teacher, tall with long pink hair and a whimsical presence. A girl who was considerably shorter stood beside her, before taking a step forward. "Don't stray too far Michaela, you wouldn't want to get lost here," she warned. Gumillia was one of her closest companions, and the stern one in Michaela's opinion.

"I won't," she reassured them with a grin, and turned around. The hill that they were on overlooked an elphegortean city, and the sea of green-haired folk that dwelled within made Elluka's pink-amaranth hair definitely stand out.

A breeze swept past them, slipping through Michaela's hair and resulting in a pleasing feeling for her. It wasn't long ago that the girl had just been a spirit flying through Held's woods as a robin, acting merely as an observer for any humans that wandered through the emerald woods. "Will we be interacting with the people much?"

"That's a good question Gumillia," Elluka said. Michaela heard the two walk up behind her and the three of them all watched the boisterous settlement below. "We should find out as much information about the location of sin vessels as possible… but don't spend too much time on mere chatter. We'll be moving on to Lucifenia soon for magic training for the both of you." She gave a small smile. "I'm sure the both of you will enjoy it!"

The three turned and began to head down to the village, Michaela was clearly the most excited by the thought.

She didn't know why, but she was always the one of the more curious spirits when it came to the things foreign to Held's forest, particularly humans. Of course, the old dragon-god always discouraged interaction with things from the outside. Leaving was forbidden as well.

Which was what she told the first person she met, a young woman with emerald hair darker than Gumillia's and far fancier clothing. "-That's why I'm glad to finally be out of the woods and getting to explore. I didn't realize having hands would be so much fun!"

"Uh… That's… Nice?"

"Michaela!"

The tree spirit nearly choked as Elluka grabbed her from behind and dragged her away. "But Ellukaaaaaa."

"Don't just spill your life story to everyone you meet, nobody believes in that stuff," Elluka told her. The pure exasperation in her expression added to Michaela's surprise. Nobody even believed in the spirits anymore? "Ask if anything weird that is not you has recently happened. Keep an ear out for news that could relate to a sin vessel. Keep conversation to a minimum."

Michaela nodded at her orders. "Alright." She glanced at the different establishments around her. She was unable to read the words on the signs, but she could still tell the colorful buildings apart!

She spotted one colorful one with fewer windows and all sorts of adults entering and leaving. Her head tilted to the side. She wasn't sure if she sure try that one or not. Shrugging, she rushed inside.

* * *

The clouds shifted in the night sky. A break came across in the clouds and allowed the full moon to cast its light down on Michaela and the figure in front of her, the one that she had spent all day tracking.

"So you're the white witch of Bolganio," Michaela stated, staring at the pale girl in front of her dressed in dark robes. "And a human," she added under her breath.

"Yes, I am. I'm assuming that you are one of Elluka's apprentices, your name?" Unlike most people, the witch glared back with red eyes, her hands clenched hiding themselves in her cloak.

"You're right, I'm Michaela. I was sent to capture you." If the other lady was surprised—she didn't show it. Michaela sighed and took a cautious step forward. But the other woman did nothing in response. "What's your name? Elluka never mentioned it..."

"Clarith. If you're one of Elluka's, you're an enemy of mine anyway." Clarith reached up and unbuttoned a broach holding her cloak together. It flew off her body, revealing black robes with crimson symbols inscribed on it. "Abyss I.R. will be happy that there's one less problematic mage running amok, I bet you're the one that hid Mikina and severed her connection to the spoon and the Queen Marlon." Her eyes flashed with hostility. "She doesn't appreciate people ruining her plans."

"Why do you serve her anyway? Can't you see what Abyss is doing is wrong… She's trying to use the sin vessels to cause trouble!" Michaela reasoned. She had seen so much of humans over the couple years that she spent training under Elluka, maybe this one could be convinced to the right. "The vessels hurt your people, isn't that a reason to reject them?"

"Hurt my people?" Michaela registered Clarith's pale face as expressing shock, the witch clearly seemed surprised at Michaela referring to the other humans as her people. "I don't associate with the people of Elphegort anymore, I don't associate with anyone other than Abyss," she spat. "The only thing everyone else did is harm me, why should I behave differently? They all deserve what they are getting."

"But some humans are good, didn't you encounter some nice people? You can't just hurt them all." Michaela thought she spoke from her own experience, many of the humans she encountered before while training under Elluka were friendly. While some seemed rather cruel, like Mikina towards her. She still helped out the woman in the end and earned her trust. There were some really friendly folk in Marlon and Lucifenia that also were extremely kind towards her, like Mariam, Leonheart, and Elluka.

Speaking of Gumillia. "Michaela, where are you?" the fellow spirit's monotonous voice bounced up the rocks from somewhere behind her. She let out a relieved sigh, her magic wasn't the strongest in a fight. Gumillia was far more capable in battle.

"Up here Gumillia! Hurry please," she called back. Clarith shot her a nasty look.

"Don't think I'll give you the chance for help!" Clarith shouted, and suddenly the ground began to shake. Michaela's eyes darted to Clarith's hands, which were glowing with red energy as they moved about. The red symbols in the albino's robes began were illuminated with subtle light.

There wasn't any time to wait for Gumillia, Michaela would have to defend herself. She inhaled quickly, and began chanting as quickly as she could, letting the words slip out lyrically. She felt the energy in her body drop downwards and flood into the ground, moving around her and forming a shining emerald circle around her.

Michaela's vision of Clarith turned green as the light bursting from the magic lines on the ground surrounding her. Hopefully this would protect her from the attack. The shaking increased in ferocity, before subsiding with the earth split and cracked in places outside of the protection circle as a result.

"Song spells? They won't last long," Clarith declared as she began waving her hands furiously. Michaela saw her mouth excitedly mouth words and Michaela began manipulating her own vocals to counter it.

But no sound was coming out.

Clarith laughed. "See? If I mute you then I can handle you just fine." She began to walk over to Michaela, stepping or even leaping over the giant cracks she created. The glowing around her hands intensified and she swung them upward, with a cloud of pebbles rising with them. "You won't be able to survive this!"

With a flick of her wrist they began shooting themselves at Michaela at startling speed. Mute, Michaela found herself running to the side and throwing herself at the ground in a dash to avoid them.

The ground smashed against her and her clothes, tearing the thin layers and leaving small gashes. She leapt to her feet, and realized as she did so that the almost ended up rolling into a ditch formed by cracked ground.

She raised a hand to her throat and tried to make sound, but there was still nothing. Clarith was now close to Michaela. Michaela took in her features, although different; she was still quite beautiful. But as Micheala looked closer, she saw a couple miniscule scars around her neck, collarbone, and the edges of her face. They must have been the treatment that the others had given her.

"I'm sorry about how they treated you… Nobody should suffer that pain," Michaela tried to say to Clarith, but she was still mute.

Clarith took it the wrong way. "Stop trying to cast a spell, it won't work when you can't sing," she said, removing a match from a pouch at her side. She picked up a stone and struck the match against it, creating a small flame.

With quick reflexes Clarith dropped it to the ground and suddenly it burst into a large flame the size of a bonfire. Sparkling embers flew from the fire and darted towards Michaela, and even while trying to dodge she felt them strike her.

She retreated a few feet for protection and glanced over her shoulder. She needed Gumillia to get here. When she looked over Clarith was guiding the fire over to her, it was getting bigger and closer to Michaela.

It started streaking towards her like a rampaging beast, and Michaela ran in circles trying to get away. Spotting the rocky edge, she flung herself over it and started painfully climbing down. She would gather Gumillia and get the hex on her voice removed first, or get so far away that Clarith couldn't maintain the spell.

But her plans were halted as the fire elemental began to spill over the sides as well, sliding towards herwith greater speed than she could climb down. She rushed to get down.

"Don't think you can get away that easily, I'll burn you to dust!" Michaela could hear Clarith's laugh over the cackling of the flames. Michaela's foot slipped in surprise and she fell backwards onto the ground. She landed on the ground with the air knocked out of her.

Worse of all, she was forced to watch as the elemental crawled down the rocks. With a roar, it detached itself from the cliffside and started dropping towards her. She tried to scream but didn't make any sound.

"Michaela!"

Michaela felt her clothes become drenched as water seeped up from the ground around her, pooling around her body and shooting upward as the fire elemental reached her. She felt a sudden snap inside of her as her body was bathed in steam.

"W-what?" she croaked. Michaela's eyes widened and her hand went to her throat.

"Why didn't you defend yourself?" Gumillia asked, her impassive face appearing through the steam. Michaela felt Gumillia's hand grab her own and pull her up.

"I couldn't speak," Michaela told her, coughing from the steam. "She cast a spell that stole my voice."

"Her?" Gumillia inquired. "Is it… Abyss I.R.?"

Michaela shook her head. "It's an apprentice of hers." Speaking of Clarith; Michaela glanced around wildly, looking for the albino.

When she found her, Michaela sprang back and started singing a spell. The enemy mage was standing on the ledge that Michaela had scrambled down, and was preparing to cast another spell. The earth shook, dislodging huge boulders from the rocky wall in front of her and Gumillia.

When Michaela finished the counterspell the earth in front of her split apart, and the boulders rolled into the ground below. She had just exhaled the final syllable of the spell when she felt Gumillia grab her hand and pull her to the side as they ran around the crack Michaela had carved.

"How are we going to deal with her? We were supposed to be dealing with Abyss I.R.!" Gumillia hissed through clenched teeth. "Are we just supposed to kill her?"

Alarms rang in Michaela's head. "N-no. We can't do that! Don't do it Gumillia. S-she has had a bad past..." Michaela fell silent in thought. "Maybe we can knock her out and capture her? That way we can bring her back to Elluka without harming her."

She recalled an ancient memory of the girl. Michaela didn't know how the memories managed to be conjured from within the depths of her brain, but they explained a little. She could recall a young pale girl wandering near Held's tree, apologizing for being alive and praying to the apathetic god for a friend. Michaela was curious of the girl then, and felt sympathy for her.

"Michaela this is Abyss I.R.'s apprentice," Gumillia said. "We can't trust her in any way, shape, or form. Don't let your emotions for the Human get in the way of things."

Michaela spotted an area where the climbing was easy and yanked Gumillia in her direction, pointing at the spot with a finger. Her body was swamped with heat. "She suffered! Stop being so cold." She turned and started climbing up the trail, leaving Gumillia to follow mutely. She knew that Gumillia's point was strong, but a pang squeezed her heart at the thought of destroying the human. They quickly climbed up the rocks and reached top.

"Don't think that just because you have a friend that you can beat me." Clarith shot the two a challenging glare as the ground shook beneath their feat. A hand grabbed the sleeve of Michaela's beige cloak.

"Do you have any idea how we're going to do this, Michaela?" Gumillia asked quietly beside her. Her lucid green eyes glittered with intelligence. She seemed to be planning out the fight.

"If we can just knock her out… We should be able to capture her!" Michaela declared, and Gumillia sighed next to her.

"And if we end up killing her?"

The tree spirit's heart fell. "Then so be it. But I want to at least try to secure her."

She saw Gumillia take a step forward in the corner of her eye. Michaela turned her head towards her companion. "Alright, I'm satisfied with that answer."

Michaela exhaled with relief and turned back to Clarith, now noticing the plants rising from within cracks in the ground. Gumillia was far stronger with magic than Clarith, now that she was here this shouldn't be a problem. "Let's do it."

Michaela clasped her hands together, and they glowed with a teal energy. She tipped her face to the sky and started singing. Hopefully this is the last song she'd have to sing tonight.

She closed her eyes, and sang. She felt the energy drain from her. A bond was established between her and the plants due to her magic and she didn't need to see them to know that they were growing strongly while shivering in green magic, or that the thorny tendrils were encroaching upon Clarith with the intent to bind and grab her.

She didn't need to see to hear Clarith's shock as the vines grabbed her before she could move or counter the spell. Gumillia's vines were quick, but with Michaela's enhancement magic they were even faster.

But that didn't mean they were fire-proof. The vines quickly burned to ashes as Clarith conjured flames from her fingers. Michaela could feel the scorching heat from a few feet away, and hear the sharp crackling of the hungry flames.

Her eyes flicked open and widened. Now Clarith was free, and seemed to be matched with Gumillia. The two were flinging bolts of magic at each other. Sometimes Clarith would make the earth split underneath Gumillia's feet, but the other mage would just grow plants over the earth. She didn't have to move an inch.

Michaela needed to find a way to knock Clarith out before any more damage was done. Someone who came near would already be able to tell that strange things were happening in the area, it would arouse too much suspicion.

She drew in a breath, then exhaled. Clarith was now racing towards Gumillia with a fierce speed. Michaela didn't take any chances, she started singing in an attempt to enhance her teammate's speed and strength.

It took a few minutes, but the spell kicked in and when Clarith tried to punch Gumillia, the woman took the punch and fired a hit of her own. Gumillia succeeded.

Clarith was blown back by the strength of the hit, and crashed and rolled across the ground. Michaela didn't give her the chance to get up and retaliate. She shrieked her final words into the air and let the still wind stir. The woken element swirled around Clarith, effectively trapping her and perhaps knocking her out if the landing hadn't.

"Michaela, you did it!" Michaela turned to see her companion Gumillia having ran up to her. "Come on, let's make sure she's out." Her gaze darkened. "Whether permanently or not."

Michaela nodded and let herself be led over to where the woman was on the ground, surrounded by hard rock devoid of even dust. The wind spell must have scoured the area of anything else.

Clarith's body appeared fragile and a lot less fierce while unconscious. White against black and brown, the sigils weaved into her robes no longer glowed as the only crimson was that of Clarith's blood seeping from accumulated wounds. Michaela's pity was surely deserved.

"She's still alive… right?" Michaela bent down and felt for Clarith's pulse. She couldn't be dead, with how challenging she was to bring down. She must have been tough enough for this.

Michaela hadn't killed anyone before, she didn't want this troubled human to be her first death.

But thankfully, the girl was still alive. Michaela sighed outward with relief. "She is."

"Then we need to take her back to Elluka, I'm sure that Abyss I.R. won't be pleased with the loss of her apprentice," Gumillia stated. She bent down next to Michaela, and grabbed the unconscious body. "That was a good idea of yours knocking her out, Michaela."

"I couldn't kill her… None of this seems like her fault."

"She's a witch!" Gumilla's body twitched in annoyance. "She has killed people herself. All of that is her own fault, not anybody else's."

"But… She was still a victim first. Maybe she can repent."

Gumillia shrugged. "It all depends on if Elluka will give her a second chance. Either way, we have a long way back. We'd better get going, and we still have to treat you." She gave Michaela a thorough look up and down, frowning at the scrapes and bruises that she had received from Clarith. Then she got up and turned to leave. Michaela stood and followed. Whatever abuse Clarith went through, maybe she could recover and join their side.


End file.
